The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1887-12-10
"sEA-povED EGGS.

their fathers brother, Captain Linn Cor
don, q. 8. N, retired list. He lives with
them apparently, to their minds, for the
sole purpose of telling them stories.
They capture him every evening, and
during the hour between dinner and bed
time he is at their mercy. The only way
in which he can secure the honorable
treatment due prisoner of war is by re-
lating tale of adventure, or by present
ing them with some of the valuable and
generally curious information with which
his mind is stored.
On one of these evenings, just as Uncle
Gap had seated himself comfortably in
his big chair in front of the fire, and the
expectant listeners we're gathered about
him, little Bryce remarked that he had
found nest with six eggs in it out in the
barn.
"Poohp said Uncle Gap, that's moth
ing. 1 found nest once with hundred
and seventy eggs in it,"
"Ohp exclaimed all the children, with
wide-open eyes.
Chow many hens laid emp" asked
Bryce.
"Not hen," answered Uncle Cap.
"Must have been funny kind of Bird"
said little Miss Blue.
"Well, it wasn't exactly bird, either"
ct know-elligatorr' shouted Betty
short for Belmont.
ono, not alligator But I'll tell you all
about it, and before I've got through,
perhaps you will guess. It was many
years ago, when was MILDLY, and at
tached to the old Porpoise' on the West
India station. During the month of May
our mess happened to be entirely out of
eggs. OF course we had never wanted them
so badly, nor thought SO much Of eggs
as now that we did not have them, and
saw no prospect Of getting any.
Zone bright moonlight night, as we
lay at anchor in little bay, close to the
shore of an uninhabited island-or key,
as they call it down there-I saw from
the deck black object moving on the
beach, and asked an cid quarter master,
who had made many cruise to these
parts, what he thought it was.
"'That," said he, lis dove, above,
going up to lay her eggs in the sand
81 laughed at what I thought was his
joke; but he said, You may think I
am not telling you the truth, but if you
go ashore in the morning and follow her
tracks up the beach, you'll find her nest,
and il you dig in the right part of it you'll
find eggs too
"I was sent ashore next day with a
party to fill water casks at a nat
ural cistern in the rocks, and while
the men were at work I strolled over
to where I had seen the black object
the night before. There, sure enough.
were tracks leading up to the top of the
beach, where the sand was hot and dry.
Where they ended quite large space
was cleared of the beach grass, and beaten
down smooth anG lard. Curious to see
if there was anything there, I got spade
and began to dig; but though I dug for
more than half an hour discovered moth
ing but sand"
"How green you must have been, Uncle
Capp laughed Jackanapes.
Yes, 1 was pretty green in those days,
that's fact, and also very red from my
exertions in the hot sun just then. But
as was giving the job up in disgust
along came the old quarter master, who
laughed when he saw what 1 was doing.
"'Let me show you how to find them,'
said he. With this he cut a slender stalk
of cane, and began thrusting it deep into
the sand, examining the end every time
he withdrew it. At last the end came up
all yellow with the yolk of an egg. Dig
ging at that spot, about two feet below
the surface I came to nest as big round
as my hat, in which, layer upon layer.
we're one hundred and seventy of the very
prettiest eggs l had ever seen. They
were the size of large plums, and covered
with glistening white skin so tough
that could not break one by pinching
it between my thumb and forefnger.
"That night party of us went ashore,
and by keeping carefully concealed had
the pleasure of seeing great loggeIhead
turtle"
"Oh, Uncle Cap-turtle-doves What
joker cried Bryce!
dig hole in the sand with her fore
fiippers, lay her eggs, cover them with
sand with her hind-hippers, and then
smooth the whole place down by the
weight of her body. We came out in
plain view while she was laying the eggs,
but she paid no attention to us. As soon
as she had got all through, however, she
started in hurry for the water. We
headed her off, and it took the united
strength of three OF us to turn her on her
back. Then we dug into the nest, and
afterward we ate both the turtle and her
eggs"
"Well," said Jsckanspes, "that beats
hens all Acknowledgment Young PEG
pLe.